Automatic washing machine control



May 19, 1953 J. H. PALMER 2,633,756

AUTOMATIC WASHING MACHINE CONTROL Filed April 21, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lfive'mbor' John H. alm er His Attowney:

May 19, 1953 J. H. PALMER 2,638,766

AUTOMATIC WASHING MACHINE CONTROL Filed April 21, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.3.

Inventor John H. Pal er His fittorrwey,

Patented May 19, 1953 AUTOMATIC :VVASHING MACHINE CONTROL.

John H. Palmer; Milford, Conn.;-assignor to Gen-' er-al Electric- Company, a. corporation of New York Application Apnil;21;,1951, Se'riaLNo. 222,223

4 Claims- (Cl. 68-'12) 'l'hisinventionrelatesl to controlsfor ,a sequence of; operations andg'more particularly; to mecha-- nism for controlling a .fixedi series "of operations of automatic washingmachines.

Many well yknown' automaticiwashing'machines' employ 'an outer tubhaving mounted 'thereina basket 'injwhich clothes maybe washed, rinsed,

and .centrifugally dried. Thisbasket'may be imperiorate, except for-a row-oi overflow ports ar rangedfaround the upperwall'g'ithrough which" overflow .wash water may flow during'filling and through which water'is discharged during 'centrifugal'extraction. Such machines are customarily provided with an oscillatable washing mech: anism,'such';as a bladed agitator, mounted, with? in the basket. Meehanism'is provided of several well-known. types for alternately osci11ating ,the washlng'means for washingorrinsing androtating, the basket for centrifugallydrying the clothes Frequentlyg float switches, or other water-level responsive means,"arej provided in the ,bottom of f the .outertub 'asa meansof controlling 'electroresponsive waterinletvalves; and, a pumpp other drain means is commonly used jVfO I; exhausting the. waterxcollected inpthis tubii Such clothes washing machinesgare usually; provided with ,one of seyeral similar, types ,of

timer motor driven program,controllersjjor ef fecting' a predetermined series of operations gincludin'a'QoscillQ-tion.of the wash n m ans; rota-1,

tion of the clothesbasketze pausebetweeneachf oscillating and(rotatin ;operation;'j and ,a final, pause following the last active Operation; With? washing machines using these welle'know con trol" mechanismsdt 'hasbeen'necessary' vfor the operator,,, when desiringgto st p ith'e"ma. chine quicklm to move thei'control knob. to. DQsition the indicatorwithin'the small space marked ofi'on the control dial; Althoughv most 'control' mecha:

nisms have been providedwith'manual means for turning the control both, in'1the1san'1e direction that it is driven and in the opposite direction; I the operator has frequently found it difiicult' to.

locate'the correct off, position-in an emergency, especially I during" a spinning; operation; since heavy'baskets may coastat a high rate, of speed,"

power supply has been interrupted.

In addition to-the difficulty infinding,,the, offposition-in an emergency the're have been prob-,-

lems encountered in manually changing the podetermining when an operation begins or ends;

if turned too far the control will cause opening of the Water inlet valves, admitting water to the basket, which, while the basket continues to coast at high'speed, is thrown into the outer tub, prematurely operating the float-switch. This could be the cause'of a dry agitate operation, which might tear the clothes. The problem is particularly serious in the case of automatic washing machines in which no brake or other means is provided to stop rotation of the spin basket, Which'instead' is permittedto coast to a step. In such "machines, moreover, when the user accidentally turns the control dial during spinning to a position in which the control calls for water filljthe clothes, because'of the high coasting speed of the basket, will be moving'at such a rapid rate that their mere impact with the incoming water Will cause fraying and possibly tearing. In addition; it is possibleythat the controldial may be turned .toa position calling'for oscillation of the clothes-washing means and, if this occurs while thespinbasket'i rapidly rotating, it could cause damage tothe transmission mechanism. With' machines in whichthe shift from oscillation of the washing means to rotation of the spin basket is made in response to a reversal of the direction of motor rotation; there would not be time for the spinning-basket to slow' down sufiiciently to cut .rinse'period;

It would be a simple matter to remedy these difiiculties by the provision of a control mechanism which cannot be turned manually after the beginning of the "operational sequence, and a separate on-off switch'for quickly interrupting the power supply'in an emergency. Such arrangements have several disadvantages, however, especially since provision iormanual turning of the control forward andbackward to shorten or eliminate cycles or to repeat cycles is very desirable. For example; the user may wish'to shorten the Wash time after the automatic operation has begun or maywish to eliminate entirely one or more rinse periods in machines where several are employed; Moreoveryforcertain types of laune dry'loads', it'inay be desirable to repeat a single rinse operation where 'only one is automatically provided." For these and other reasons, the pro- Vision of meansior manuallyv turning the control in either direction is very desirable and should not be eliminated if other means can be found to overcome the problems encountered in rapid manual switching. Moreover, the provision of a separate on-off switch to interrupt the power supply in an emergency is a considerable expense and is made unnecessary when a timing mechanism constructed in accordance with my invention is used.

Another defect of prior controls, of a somewhat different nature, is that with the usual tolerances and ordinary'tapering cam surfaces, actuation of the control switches by the cam followers is not always sufficiently exact for the close requirements of the operational sequence. This problem cannot be overcome by the provision of a separate on-off switch and a nonreversible control mechanism, while my invention not only makes such an arrangement unnecessary but also provides more accurate switch operation.

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide an improved control for a sequence of operations including provision for adjusting the duration of and eliminating or repeating operations.

It is another object of my invention to provide an improved control incorporating an arrangement for permitting limited manual reversal and including stop means located at a plurality of pause positions.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a program controller having a timer motor driven cam drum for activating a group of control switches in a predetermined order. The cam drum may be manually turned in either direction by a control knob or dial, a portion of which projects outside the casing where it can be manipulated by the operator of the machine. A plurality of positions of one cam on the cam drum are provided with stop means effective to limit manual reversal of the drum but ineffective to prevent turning in its driven direction. These stop means are so located as to coincide with the spaces on the cam periphery which effect deenergization of the motor which drives the washing and extracting mechanisms. They, therefore, constitute temporary off positions and provide a means by which the machine user can readily find the pause between operations in order to eliminate or repeat any operation of the automatic cycle.

For a better understanding of my invention,

reference may now be had to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of an automatic washing machine cabinet incorporating my control; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the control mechanism and dial; Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation view of the control mechanism taken along the lines 3-3v of 'Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view of the control mechanism taken along the lines 4-4 of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of certain parts.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown a portion of the clothes washer cabinet I in which is mounted a control constructed in accordance with my invention. A portion of a'control dial 2 projects through a slot 3 in the front wall of the cabinet I to permit manual turning of the control to initiate the sequence of timed operations and also for varying the duration of individual operations or eliminating or repeating such operations. In addition, there is shown projecting from the cabinet a manual switch arm 4 which is movable in a slot 5 marked with 4 the letters H and W representing the hot and warm control positions for the incoming water. The manually operated switch arm 4 is a common feature on controls for automatic clothes washers and does not constitute a part of my invention.

Referring now to Figs. 2, 3, and 4, the control includes a switch structure 6 including a plurality of switches, not shown. This switch assembly may be of the general type shown in U. S. Patent 2,481,333, granted September 6, 1949, to Heber L. Newell, and owned by the General Electric Company, assignee of the present invention. A plurality of plug terminals 1 project from the end of the switch structure 6 and are adapted to be received within corresponding receptacles, not shown. A mounting bracket 8 is provided for supporting the control structure and the switch assembly 6 is secured to this bracket by a plurality of screws 9, or other suitable fastening devices. A bushing II] is secured within an opening in the mounting bracket 8 and serves as a bearing for a shaft ll journaled therein. This shaft provides a common mounting element for various portions of my control, as will be further explained hereinafter. A control or cam drum l2, including a plurality of adjacent cam disks designated as l3, l4, l5, and 16, respectively, is mounted for rotation about the shaft II. On the drum I2, I provide a hub ll, also arranged to revolve freely on the shaft ll. While only 4 cam disks are shown, it will be understood that any suitable number may be used according to the complexities of the operational sequence controlled by them. The cam disks l3, I4, l5, and [6 are each provided with a cam follower for actuating the switches included within the switch structure 6 to effect the desired sequential control for the washing machine. A cam follower I8 for cam disk I3 and a cam follower [9 for cam disk [4 are illustrated in Fig. 4. They are provided with arms 20 and 2!, respectively, which are pivotally mounted on'pintles 22 and 23. The follower for cam disk I5 may also be mounted on pintle 22 and the follower for cam disk [6 may be mounted on the pintle 23. v

In order to drive the sequential control a constant speed timer motor 24 is provided and may be attached to the underside of the mounting bracket 8 by a plurality of screws as shown in Fig. 3, or by other suitable attaching means. The motor 24, which is preferably a low speed synchronous clock motor, drives a pinion 25 through a gear reduction mechanism, not shown, contained within an enclosing casing 26. Motion is' transmitted by the pinion 25 to the shaft ll through a gear train 271. Its purpose is to further reduce the drivin speed and its construction may besimilar'to'that disclosed in the pendin application of Harold A. Jones, Serial No. 33,943, filed June 19, 1948, issued August 26, .1952, as Pat ent No. 2,608,082, for Automatic Washing Machine Control, and owned by the General Electric Company, assignee of the present invention. The cam drum l2 may be driven at as low a speed as one revolution per hour and as viewed in Fig. 2

the direction of rotation is clockwise. The con trol dial 2 includes a hub 28 which fits loosely on the hub ll of thecam drum I2 and is carried along with the drum when the latter is driven by the motor 24, so that the dial 2 at all times shows the position of thecam drum and, consequently, indicates the operation then being performed by the washing machine. The dial2 is connected to. the cam; drumw H: by :meanstfof 1a projectionZH on theupperface:of;the drumwhichw fits'intoan aperture 3fl tformed on thedial so'that the cam: .drum l2; and the: dial -.2 willzrotatez toe. gether in' either direction; As'shown in Fig "2,.

apertureis somewhatlarger indiameter than. projection 29 thus providing a lost motionlcon-- nection between the drum ancl the l-dial; Thus, since the dial 2 can be-manually manipulated, this keying arrangement provides'rna'nual-lmeansfor rotating the cam drum 1 2- to vary the duration H of any given operation andto eliminate or repeatany operation.-

Shaft ll is connectedtoacontrol drum llby means of a ratchet gearfiu' fixed on the upper end of shaft II and a pawl 5i pivoted-on a pin 52fixed to and projectin upwardl-y fromthetop wall of the drum and cooperatingwith the teethof the ratchet gear. The pawl is biased toward i engagement-With the ratchet gear by a spring 53 one end of which is attached to the pawl and the other end to-the dial. With this-arrangementwhen ratchet gear is-driven -in-a clockwise direction by motor Mi -the ratchet gear carries along-with it drum [2 through theintermediary of pawl 5 l When control-dialZ is turned manna ally in a clockwise direction asviewed-in Fig; 2,-

pawl 51 is carried along with the drum, thepawl sliding over the-teeth of ratchet gear i0. To" permit of dial 2 being turned-manually in-a counter-clockwise direction, means is providedwherebyturnin of the-dialcauses pawl-El to be moved from engagement with theteeth of'r'atchet gear 5t. To this end, pawl Skis-provided with-a" projection 54 which stands-in a recess indial 2. Spring 53-holdsprojection fill-against the'wall 56' of recess 55 and at the same time holds-the left hand side of aperture 3U against -projection-- 29 as shown in Fig. 2. manually in a counter-clockwisedirection it first \Vhen dial 2 is turned moves relativelyto drum-l2 by reason of thelost motion connectionbetween aperture BBand-projection 29 thus turning pawl- 51-" -in=-a clockwisedirection as viewed inFig; 2 to cause "itto move from engag-ement with the teeth-of ratchet gear 50 after which the right hand side of-aperture 30 engages projection 29. Continued movement ofdial 2 then turns drum l2.-

When the sequential control is to be initiated byturning of the knob-2, it is normally moved in a olockwisedirection and the duration of-the washing cycleinminutes set by moving the-appropriate dial indication-in-alignment*with amark 3| provided onthe casing I of i the clothes washing machine, as shown in Fig.1.

On the control on which I have chosen toillustrate my invention, I have shown what is considered to be the basic operational sequencenecessary in automatic washing machines? and have provided for periods ofmain drive motor de-energization ofsufficientdurationto permit the motor to coast toa stopbetween operations;

In addition to the basic cycle,-I have shown'a suds kill feature to show how-easily-my invention can be madeapplicable to acontrol-for a more complicated sequence of operations. U The standard control cycle shown includes a -wash period followed by a pause period'to permit the drive motor to coast to. a stop, a spin period for extracting the wash waterfrom the basket, -anotherpause period to permit the'drive motor to coastto a stop, 1.31 rinseperiodzinvolving the 'use of the washing mechanismstoxagitate-the clothes, another pause period tospermit the drive motor to. coast atoz-a stop, a 1 .dry period. in which :the

basket risaiagainl :rotatedfto 1centrifugally .iextract 1':

water: from-the: clothes, and a :final ivpause 1 period-r:

during: {which :the; drive motor again :':coasts to a stop, whereupon thesequencerof operations has :ended. It: is apparent that-the;controlzdisclosed-i is::bestapplicable; t0: .an automatic=washin g maschine in which ;a ,reversiblesmotorsis used ianda f direction-responsive :clutchingsarrangement eIrr-l ployed for select-n ely driving-the washing: means/ and ;the; spin basketys though i my; invention can obviously-v be; applied to, :a wide -variety of'scontrol arrangements: While-theumotoris coasting to a stop the switches-actuatedxby the camfollowers Ir reverse-the drive motor starting winding -connec- 4 .tions and effect conventional circuitsfor actuatu ingthe.electro-responsive waterinlet system and other necessary operations; The eiiect; conse-= quently, is that whenever cam disk I3 is so posi tioned as to call for one of thelsaforementioned pauser' periods ithedrive motor-circuit is interrupted-and then, upon-there-energization of thedrivenmotor, its rotation is oppositeso-that a spin operation will follow-an agitate-operation=- and an agitate operationswill follow-a spin-oper I 'ation. 1

ready enumerated for: conventional control ar- In a order-- to. eliminate the i disadvantages alrangements I provide stop me'ans which limit manual rotation of thecontror drum lz' in a -=directioncontrary to its.'driven' -direction so that:

the. :dllllll cannot be. backed beyond ithe nearest pause position of cam disk 13.: The control may 'stillube freely' rotated forward at the 'user s will bywmanipulation of thecontrol-dial but -uponbackwardrotation a sstop is engagedin -the first" pause position. encountered a and: the drive motor circuit is lthereby:de-energized untilthe cam disk rotates or is rotated forwardly: t'o' -some other ChOSBII DQSltlOIIL' Consequently; in an emergency, all the operator-v needs Y to do to: stop n the-oscillation of the washingmeans or the: ro-

tationof I the spin basket is to "turn i the control dial; in -a counterclockwise direction; to the first stop encountered;- After: the 'operator-has hadtimevto: remedy-the situation giving-rise to the emergency, the dial-may then' be turnedto any desired position or to :the final pause oroft position; 1 Moreover, if it is desired I :torepeat any cyclewhiletheoperation is still. in progress;

itrisonly necessary to rotate theadial backsward-ly to its-stop and then"-because thetimer motor will continuendriving the-control=drum,-

the-machine will againgo through the operation.:

If it is, desired to; shorten or eliminate an operation thisl may stillbe done as on conventional timers by merely rotating thedialin its" forward direction. v

I have illustrateda presentlyipreferred form":

of :my tinventionoin Fig.1 4 in which cam rdisk 13 #and :camfollowerl8 are shown indetail; The cam-disksis being driven in a clockwiseidh rection. as'viewed in Fig.4 and thecam follower I8 is shown riding up; on the tapered trailing edge of thecam: recess 32; which recess. rep resentsthe final-pause orfoif position. The follower 13, pivoted aspreviously describedmnw the pintle ..22,:carries andn'sulatedumember L33 which-bears against a switch blade 34;, whichis;

preferably of a resilient material." Theablade 35 1 is .kept in contact with the member 33'by means;

ofxa spring 35;;which resiliently biases it'inzthe direction of, the ;-follower l8, I provide-via con-,

tact l 362-5011. the blade :34 and "a -.:blade extension: 31in: electrically conducting 1relation:;with one of 1 'w1-,th1=;-;terminalsi'l. I further provide:a :contactittiis on an extension of another of theterminals I and positioned for engagement with the contact 36. high portion of the periphery of the cam disk I3, the member 33' pushes against switch plate 34 to close the contacts. The contacts 36and '38 remain in engagement so long as the follower rides on a high portion of the periphery of the cam disk I3 but whenever the follower I8 falls into a recessed portion the spring 35 moves the switch blade 34 overcenter, thereby disengaging the contacts. The respective terminals I which are electrically connected to the contacts 36 and 38 are connected to the drive motor energizing circuit so that the circuit is completed whenever contact36 engages contact 38, and is interrupted upon disengagement of these contacts.

Upon continued clockwise rotation of the cam disk I3 by the timer motor 24, the drive motor will be energized and, because of circuits effected by the switches operated by the followers of cam disks I4, I and I6 will operate in the direction necessary to cause oscillation of the clothes washing means within the basket. When rotation has continued until the follower I8 falls over the lea-ding edge of and into another recess 39 in the periphery of the cam disk I3, the first pause period begins. The contact 36 is moved away from contact 38 under the urging of the spring 35. During this first pause period, in the manner previously explained, the starting winding of the drive motor is reversed and, as the follower I8 rides up on the tapered trailing edge of the recess 39, the drive motor is again energized, this time for rotation in the opposite direction so that spinning of the basket takes place.

Adjacent the recess 39 in the periphery of the cam disk I3 is provided a recess 40 which is not necessary in a control for the basic operational sequence of an automatic washer but which is shown to illustrate the ease with which my invention may be employed in more complicated control arrangements. The recess 40 permits the addition of a control feature called a suds kill. This consists of the provision of a solenoid actuated or other electroresponsive water valve with a nozzle directed to spray cold water into the outer tub of the clothes washer just after centrifugal extraction has begun and some wash water from the clothes basket has been discharged into the outer tub. This cold water spray tends to prevent a building up of suds in the tub which would cause a drag on the spinning basket. Such a suds killing spray may be initiated automatically by any suitable control.

cam arrangement, such as by the provision of a cam lobe M on the control dial 2. A cam follower 42, engageable with the dial, is mounted about the switch structure 6 and constitutes a part of a suds-kill switch 43. The switch 43 is supported from a plate 44, attached to the mounting bracket 8 by the screws 9, and comprises switch blades 45 and 46 carrying, respectively, contacts 41 and 48. Upon elevation of the cam follower 42 by the cam lobe M, the contacts 41 and 48 are closed to actuate the sudskill valve. The resulting spray is accompanied by a momentary interruption of the drive motor circuit so that the whipping action of the basket spinning in the suds already accumulated in the tub can be reduced until the cold water spray has had its eifect. As indicated by the shape of the notch-like recess 40,

Whenever the cam follower rides onto the.

8. the interruption of the drive motor circuit is of very short duration and does not permit the spinning basket to coast to a stop. Following this momentary interruption, the cam follower rides up to the tapered trailing edge of the notch 40 and the centrifugal extraction operation is continued.

Spinning of the basket ends when the cam follower It? falls into a recess 49 in the periphery of the cam disk I3, thereby de-energizing the drive motor for the second pause period. This pause period is of longer duration than the first pause period because of the longer time required for the rapidly spinning and usually heavy basket to coast t a stop. During this interruption, the switches actuated by cam disks I4, I5 and I6 effect the necessary circuits for the rinsing operation, including reversal of the start winding for the drive motor and actuation of the water inlet valves. Consequently, when the cam follower rides out of the recess 49 on its tapered trailing edge to the high portion of the cam disk l3, the drive motor turns in the direction necessary to oscillate the washing means once again to flex the clothes in the rinse water. This rinse operation continues until the cam follower I8, riding on the high portion of the cam disk I3, falls int a recess 50, whereupon the drive motor is again de-energized. and the third pause period begins. During this pause, the switches actuated by the cam disks l4, I5 and I6 effect the necessary starting winding connection reversal so that when the follower l8 rides up on the tapered trailing edge of the recess 50 to the high portion of the cam disk periphery and causes re-engagement of the contacts 36 and 38, the drive motor will turn in its spin basket driving direction to centrifugally extract the rinse water from the basket.

The entire cycle of operations ends when the cam follower again reaches the recess 32 in the periphery of the cam disk I3, which de-energizes the drive motor for its final pause or off period.

To serve as stop means to prevent unlimited reversal of the cam disk I3, as well as to provide sharper and more accurate operation of the drive motor switch, I provide leading edges for the recesses 32, 39, 49 and 56, each of which lies in a plane passing through the axis of the shaft II. Instead of being severely tapered to permit the cam follower to readily ride up the respective surfaces, as in the case of the trailing edges, the leading edge of each recess is formed at an angle of substantially degrees with the base of the recess so that upon attempted rotation of the cam drum contrary to its driven rotation, the cam follower is will engage the leading edge of the first recess of cam disk I3 into which it falls and prevent any further rotation of the cam drum I2 and the dial 2. Of course, any other suitable stop means may be provided at these recesses operable to prevent the cam follower I8 from riding out of a recess when the cam is rotated in a counterclockwise direction, but the provision of substantially right angle leading edges for the cam disk recesses is simple, economical and effective and in addition provides sharper and more accurate switch opening than does the usual sloping surface. By changing the shape of the forward edge of the cam follower l8, moreover, a widely varying angle for the leading edges of the cam disk recesses can be successfully used.

It would not be desirable in an emergency for the operator to turn the cam disk l3 so that the follower 18 engages the suds kill recess 40, as the initiation of the suds spray would be disconcerting and the power interruption would be of too short a duration. In view of this, both the leading and trailing edges of the notch which forms recess 49 have been severely tapered so that the follower 18 will easily ride out of the suds kill recess, no matter in which direction the cam is rotated. Consequently, the only stop positions provided coincide with those recesses in which the drive motor is de-energized for a true pause and for a sufiicient time to permit the driven mechanism to coast to a complete stop. As a result, my stop means provides excellent emergency off positions, since the drive motor will be de-energized for a sufficient period of time for the operator to overcome any initial bewilderment and turn the dial to its final pause or off position. The operator may readily determine the location of this position by turning the dial in its forward direction past the off marking and then backing it up until it reaches the off position stop. This eliminates the guess-work involved in turning most controls to the off position and makes it unnecessary for the operator to carefully listen for the snapping of switches or other indications that the machine is fully deenergized.

While I have shown a particular embodiment of my invention, it will be understood, of course, that I do not wish to be limited thereto, since many modifications may be made; and I, therefore, contemplate by the appended claims to cover any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A controller for a motor-driven apparatus comprising a timer motor, a cam disk having a peripheral face on which are provided alternate raised and recessed portions, clutch means connecting the timer motor to said cam disk and through which it drives a cam disk, said clutch means being releasable to permit turning of the cam disk in either direction independently of said timer motor, a follower for said cam disk, a switch operable upon movement of said cam follower to one of said raised portions to complete a drive motor circuit and operable upon movement of said cam follower to one of said recessed portions to interrupt said drive motor circuit, manual means connected to said cam disk for turning it in a direction contrary to its driven direction, and stop means located at the leading ends of selected circuit interrupting recesses I which engage with said follower to prevent turning of said cam disk in said contrary direction beyond the leading edge of a selected recess.

2. A controller for a motor-driven apparatus comprising a timer motor, a cam disk having a peripheral edge on which are provided alternate raised and recessed portions, clutch means connecting the timer motor to said cam disk and through which it drives the cam disk, said clutch means being releasable to permit turning of the cam disk in either direction independently of said timer motor, a follower for said cam disk,

a switch operable upon movement of said cam follower to one of said raised portions to complete a drive motor circuit and operable upon movement of said cam follower to one of said recessed portions to interrupt said driving motor circuit, and manual means connected to said cam disk for turning it in a direction contrary to its driven direction, at least some or said recessed portions having abrupt leading edges shaped to engage said follower upon contrary rotation of said cam disk to prevent turning of said cam disk in said contrary direction beyond the leading edge of the recessed portion.

3. For use in a clothes washing machine having a rotatable basket with oscillatable washing means disposed therein and a drive motor for alternately driving said basket and said Washing means, a controller comprising a timer motor, a control drum, clutch means through which the timer motor drives the control drum for effecting a series of operations including the oscillation of said washing means, the rotation of said basket, a drive motor de-energization period between each said oscillating and rotating operation, and a final drive motor de-energization following the last such operation, said clutch means permitting the control drum to be turned in a direction opposite to its driven direction independently of said timer motor, manual means connected to said control drum for turning it in a direction opposite to its driven direction, stop means at the leading ends of selected drive motor de-energization positions, and stop means carried by said drum which engage said first named stop means upon such manual turning to limit the movement of said control drum.

i. A controller for a motor-driven apparatus comprising a timer motor, a cam disk having alternate raised and recessed portions, clutch means through which the timer motor drives the cam disk, said clutch means permitting the cam disk to be turned in a direction opposite to its driven direction independently of said timer motor, a follower for said cam disk, a switch operable upon movement of said cam follower to one of said raised portions to complete a drive motor circuit and operable upon movement of said cam follower to one of said recessed portions to interrupt said drive motor circuit, said recessed portions being provided with gradually sloping Wall portions to permit said follower to readily ride up on said raised portion upon normal rotation of said cam, at least one of said recesses being provided with a leading wall portion shaped to engage the edge of. said follower to prevent said follower from riding up on said raised portion upon reverse rotation of said cam disk, and manual means for turning said cam disk in the reverse direction from its normal driven direction.

JOHN H. PALMER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,394,142 Breckenridge Feb. 5, 1946 2,527,249 Gallagher Oct. 24, 1950 

